Hi Moms,
I'm hoping some of you can help me figure out what's going on. We have an 19 month old son. Initially we had a nanny, but switched him to daycare about 3 months ago. Ever since he's been in daycare someone, either my son, husband or I, have been sick every few weeks. Unfortunately it most often happens to me. And it's not just colds. Without getting too graphic, let's just say I've had four boughts of severe intestinal distress in just the last few months (I suspect rotovirus). Sometimes we all get sick, and sometimes it's just one or two of us. Everyone, including my doctor, tells us that we just need to get used to all the germs our son is bringing home from daycare. But all this illness is really effecting our family life. It's exhausting being sick or taking care of someone else who is sick all the time. Plus, my husband and I are using up all our days off at work.
Can anyone shed some light on what's going on and/or offer any solutions? Thank you.
Hi K.!
I'm so sorry to hear all that. I HIGHLY recommend probiotics! THey are life saviors!! The kids probiotic is called Florastor kids and you can get it from the pharmacy at Walgreens. For yourselves you can get them at Vitamin Shoppe. Take those daily with a multi vitamin. I also give my kids the Gummi...Immune gummies.
Good luck and get well!
K. :0)
The whole family should take some probiotics and boost up on vitamin D. They boost your immune system. You can get them at Whole Foods or similar. My 3 year old started preschool last fall, and we were rarely sick. I bet he was the healthiest kid in the class.
See Dr. Mercola's website for guidelines on Vit D dosages.
We had something similar about 5 years ago. Luckily, our furnace (original to the house) died and had to be replaced. After we got the new furnace, I don't think that any of us has had more than a little cold. It could be that those germs just circulate over and over, even with a clean filter.
All I can do is suggest you boost your immune systems. Daycares are just germy places! I used to get sick at the beginning of each school year.
There's this great product called Emergen-C and it's packets of 1000mg of vitamin C (plus other vitamins) that you just put in water and it makes a fizzy drink. My favorite flavor is Pink Lemonade. They also make it for kids in 500mg doses. It really does help!
You can get it at Target or grocery stores. I carry packets around with me because it makes a good pick-me-up when I get tired in the day.
I don't know . . . we went through the everyone getting sick thing with both my kids, but it was more colds and fevers. Is your son also getting stomach symptoms? Any chance you may have a parasite? Friends of ours got something like that after a trip out of the country. I don't remember the details but it was just by chance that they figured out what they had. Symptoms went on for weeks on and off - lots of diarrhea and cramping.
I'd keep nagging your doctor to get to the bottom of it. In my experience, kids do get stomach bugs but we don't usually catch them and they only come up about once a year; not every couple of weeks.
It's the daycare. Sorry. They are dirty, no matter what, and there are thousands of different stomach bugs you could be getting each time. If workers there are changing diapers and not washing their hands, there are poop germs (e Coli, salmonella) everywhere, in addition to all the viruses out there that are usually going around this time of year.
You should take lots of Vitamin C (not when you are sick to your stomach, of course!) and you should also take probiotics (Culterelle is a good one). You should take fish oil, also, and make sure you have a good diet full of plants and fruits and LOTS of water. Sleep is vital, also.
Dramatically reducing sugar can also help because sugar suppresses your immune system.
Make sure everyone in your home is washing their hands after going potty, too. EVERYONE.
The good news, is, eventually you will all become immune to these nasty bugs. You have to get them or at least be exposed to them to get immunity, though.
Hi K.,
I'm very sorry to hear how sick your family has been, but sadly your doctor is right. Daycare is a breeding place for all sorts of germs. I worked in a center for several years and parents can really be very inconsiderate when it comes to bringing in sick kids and the staff are over-worked and under-paid so often cleaning well is not on top of the list. You might look into a small home daycare (fewer people equals fewer germs) or go back to a nanny where you know what is coming and going a little easier.
Best Wishes to you and your family!
